Topic: CNSNews.com
We've documented the CNSNews.com template for covering Democratic presidential candidates: attack them relentlessly if they start to gain momentum among voters. Joe Biden was the most recent to get that rush of negative coverage. Even as coronavirus has become the story of the year, CNS has not stopped writing about Biden with spin to deliberately make him look bad.
An anonymously written March 13 article took a Biden comment on coronavirus out of context to up the ridiculous factor with the headline "Joe Biden Advises Americans to Stop Hugging Each Other."That was joined by another anonymous article claiming that Biden "is promising as part of his 'education' plan to send what he calls “child development specialists” into the homes of Americans who have young children. The program was initiated under Obamacare." Ooh, scary!
A March 16 article by Susan Jones went for old-fashioned right-wing scare tactics with the headline "Biden Would Immediately End All Deportations, Except for Felons." That was followed by another anonymously written article which focused on Biden having "vowed that he and Sen. Bernie Sanders 'share a common vision.'"
From there, it was a group of articles by Jones that vascillated between making Biden look either ridiculous and scary:
- CNN's Jake Tapper Reminds Biden to 'Cough Into Your Elbow'
- Joe Biden:‘Anybody Who Walks Into the House, From the Secret Service On, They're Wearing Masks and Gloves’
- Biden: 'I'm the Only One in My Family Has Zero Talent'
- Biden Says He Spoke to Obama About 'What He Was Looking for in a Vice President'
- Biden Would Ensure that 'Every Worker Had...Up to 14 Weeks' Paid Sick Leave' (Jones complained that "Fourteen weeks is far more than most workers get right now")
Jones' intent to mock and smear was made even more clear in which she made an awkwardly worded quote from Biden the headline: "Biden: Trump 'Has to be Able to Provide For Providing Significantly No More Masks'." (originally headlined "Even Looking at Written Prompts, Biden Doesn't Make Sense"; CNS did not disclose to readers that the headline was changed, let alone explain why). We can't recall Jones or CNS giving President Trump the same editorial treatment even though there's no end to the strange and confusing things he says.
Then it was back to anonymity for an April 2 article complaining that Biden issued a tweet in Spanish urging people to complete their census forms. The anonymous writer huffed: "Biden did provide an English version of his tweet for Americans who do not know Spanish. But he did not send out the Tweet in Ukrainian or Chinese--or any other languages other than Spanish and English," but did not explain why Biden should issue his statement in every possible language.
It's abundantly clear that CNS has no interest in reporting fairly on Biden, just as it has no interest in reporting critically on President Trump.
